


Patch

by Rin_the_Shadow



Series: To Turn Spark [20]
Category: Transformers (Unicron Trilogy), Transformers: Armada
Genre: AU to Transformers: Armada, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempts at communication, Dealing With Trauma, Gen, Mentions of past abuse, Past Character Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Scavenger does his best, everyone younger than Scavenger is 'kid' in his mind, major influence by posthumous character, mentions of past military career, trying to explain, with some exceptions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-25 03:37:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21349618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rin_the_Shadow/pseuds/Rin_the_Shadow
Summary: He'd done what he had to do to stop the kid from scrapping himself, but Scavenger knew that not everyone saw it that way. Things have never been easy between them, but that doesn't mean he can't give the seeker an explanation for what happened.
Relationships: Scavenger & Optimus Prime, Scavenger & Red Alert
Series: To Turn Spark [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1140827
Comments: 13
Kudos: 26





	Patch

**Author's Note:**

> This fic ties in pretty directly with the events of "Aftermath," though if you've seen the Armada cartoon up to the episode "Remorse," you probably have a good idea what the events are.
> 
> Again, Major Character Death is not tagged in this fic because the death happened in "Crisis," not this fic, but it still has an effect, and I can adjust that tag if desired.

Even with things starting to settle, Scavenger wasn’t blind. Tensions were lower overall. He wouldn’t change what he had done. But the fact remained that there was at least one ‘bot in the group who didn’t understand what he had done, or why.

It wasn’t as though he could blame him for it, either. Not after what he’d seen him go through under Megatron. To Starscream, watching him trade blows with Hot Shot on that abandoned highway probably didn’t look any different. It wasn’t as though he’d trusted him before that, either. And with Optimus no longer around to mediate…

“Well, my old friend, we’ve certainly got our work cut out for us,” he sighed as he echoed what Optimus would have said.

No mentor wanted to outlive their trainee. Even the war didn’t change that fact. But it had happened, and it had happened in such a place that he couldn’t dwell on it. Red Alert had asked him how he was holding up.

“Would you believe me if I said I’m managing?”

He hadn’t liked that answer. “You’re in a unique situation compared to the rest of the team. That’s not to say they aren’t struggling, but most data has indicated that a mentor bond, though it may weaken and strain over time, never fully breaks.”

“And you agree with it?” Scavenger hadn’t intended to argue, of course, but he hadn’t been able to keep the tension entirely out of his voice.

“I have found it to be generally true.” If he was offended, Red Alert gave no indication of it. “What I’m saying is that you will likely find yourself needing to adjust in the next few weeks. If you need anything beyond what you can adjust to, report it, and I will make whatever accommodations are available.”

“And you, Red Alert,” Scavenger answered him, earning a perplexed look. “I get it, you’re Chief Medical Officer of the Autobots. But don’t…” he paused, remembering his words to Optimus. “Don’t forget yourself in all of this.”

There was a brief pause. “Understood.” And he had turned and continued into the medbay.

While Red Alert was most comfortable with data and records, in Scavenger’s case, he had always dealt best when he could work with his hands. Besides, even he could tell when their medic was overworked, and so he had chosen to work on the _Axalon _in his place. When a ‘bot got about to his age, they learned how to cope with most things—and, in some cases, how to get another ‘bot to cope.

Red Alert would have tried to reason with Hot Shot. That was fine. That was how Red Alert operated. But with the state Hot Shot was in? Well, Scavenger wouldn’t have wanted to see the medbay after that.

Hot Shot’s case was the kind that could only be solved in the training yard, and with Blurr using the main room at that point…

But it wasn’t as though Starscream had any way of knowing that.

It wasn’t as though Scavenger hadn’t considered it, either. He’d thought he would either be in his room, or off in that rocky area he used for sword practice, but he had considered it. Besides that, the issue with Hot Shot had been affecting far too many of them, and it needed to be solved right then and there. He didn’t regret what he had done.

Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t give the former Decepticon an explanation.

He hadn’t come down this way before. There was no reason to, unless he was specifically seeking Jetfire or Starscream, and with the seeker’s blatant distrust of him, the last thing he wanted was to aggravate it by coming into his space uninvited. Perhaps it would have been better to have acted sooner, while Optimus was still alive to mediate, but that was neither here nor there at this point. They would just have to work with what they had.

He found Starscream between his own room and the warp room. Probably for the best. If he had gone to find him in his space, he might feel like he was being singled out. “Hey, Starscream,” he called. “Mind if I talk to you for a minute?”

There was no missing the shift in his stance, even as he tried to conceal it. “Red Alert said I shouldn’t work on the ship right now.”

Scavenger winced internally. Was he still that much of a threat? “That’s fine.” He waved a hand. “It wasn’t about that, anyway.”

Starscream didn’t answer that, only watching him from beneath his helm. Of course, he wasn’t going to answer. If it had been Megatron, asking would only have made his situation worse.

“I noticed you seemed a bit on edge earlier. Perfectly understandable. Tensions have been high all around. But I wanted to make sure…”

“I wasn’t aware of your being my medic,” he snapped, refusing to look directly at him, but also refusing to look away.

“No, but I am the one who dragged someone out to fight not even a week after our commander’s death.” _I _am_ the one who set you off_. That was what he _really _wanted to say. But he already knew how well Starscream would take _that_.

There was a slow intake before he spoke. “How you Autobots handle your disputes isn’t any of my business.”

“You’re acting as a member of the team, kid. I’d say it is,” Scavenger started before remembering to take things slower. The way Red Alert or Optimus might have. Starscream hadn’t understood what was happening. He had confirmation of that now. “Besides, that situation wasn’t a normal one, and with what you’ve had to deal with before, I wanted to make sure you didn’t think it was…”

“_I’m not arguing with it_,” he snapped again, taking a step away. “It’s how you handled it, and it’s not my place to question.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be a beatdown, if that’s what you’re thinking.” At this point, it was direct approach or no approach at all, and if he broke this off now, well, he could imagine how much worse the seeker’s state would be. “But it is something that comes from my days at the military academy.”

When Starscream didn’t answer, he continued. “The training isn’t easy, though I’m sure you’re aware of that. Sometimes ‘bots get restless. They start gunning for something to take things out on, and if you let that escalate, you end up with people in the medbay’s critical unit.” _Especially _with ‘bots who hadn’t learned proper technique. “So you take that ‘bot out with a skilled instructor, and you let them get it out of their system, get ‘em to work it out and deal with it.”

He searched the seeker’s face for any sign that he believed him. With Starscream, it was always hard to say, but if he had to venture a guess, well, he wasn’t about to bet units on it. “It was a bit modified, of course. Normally, it would be done in a holodeck or training area, so it’s harder for them to hurt themselves. But you work with what you’ve got.”

Still no answer. Scavenger ex-vented, resisting the urge to bring his hand to the back of his head. In these kinds of situations, you didn’t want to do anything that could be perceived as an attack.

“You understand that wasn’t a punishment, don’t you?” _And besides that, it probably isn’t a good technique for _you_, given your history_, he refrained from saying.

“I don’t need your sympathy,” he growled low, but without the venom that was normally behind it.

“No,” Scavenger replied, “but you still needed an explanation for protocols you aren’t used to. Same as we’d do for any new recruit.”

An uneasy silence stretched out between them, though Scavenger hoped that at least _some _of that tension had drained out of it. At the very least, Starscream no longer looked like he wanted to bolt. He still avoided looking right at him, still didn’t precisely relax, but considering where he’d known him before this, well, if he wasn’t recoiling from his approach, it was as good a start as he could ask for.

“If that’s all,” he finally spoke, “then I’ll be going.”

“Of course,” Scavenger answered. _Take care, kid_.

Starscream waited for him to leave before turning and continuing down the hall towards his room. The old veteran was still almost certain he didn’t fully believe him, or maybe he was just having trouble integrating this new information. It wasn’t surprising, he reminded himself, not for the situation the seeker had come from, and continuing to drive the point might only have had the opposite effect, now that he’d made it.

That was fine. He could give him time to process. Admittedly, he thought, he probably should have discussed this with Red Alert _first_, to figure out what the medic had said to him and how he should approach the subject from there.

But in this case…he liked to think he had used good judgment. That it was what Optimus would have wanted.

As he made his way back to the ship, his thoughts drifted to his former trainee. He couldn’t say just yet how this would turn out. Really, it would have been much better to have done this while Optimus was still alive, but it wasn’t like rusting himself up with regrets was going to fix anything.

There wasn’t even a guarantee that _this_ was going to fix anything. Still, he’d seen a way that might work, and he’d be scrapped if he wasn’t going to take the shot he had. Trainer, veteran, spy…didn’t matter what you were, that was a risk a ‘bot had to learn to take.

And besides, he owed it to his trainee’s memory not to let his legacy go to waste.

**Author's Note:**

> I still function! 
> 
> But actually, figuring out how to wrap this one up is a big part of what took me so long. It seems like it's always the conclusions.
> 
> 888Alis888 managed to predict this before I started writing, but I had very much felt that Starscream would need an explanation for what happened back there. Some of it was my own projecting, because the actual episode in which those events occurred has sometimes been distressing for me even as someone who doesn't have Starscream's history, but I also think he would still have a strong enough association with stuff like what happened in "Rebellion" that he would have a hard time telling the difference without having it told to him directly.
> 
> Scavenger is kind of an interesting character for me to write. He's very practical, but not in the same way as Red Alert, and while I think he has some psychology/counseling training because of his work at the military academy and his time as a double-agent, he doesn't necessarily have as extensive of training as someone working as a medic would have. I ended up going over Forge, Patrol, and Regroup in order to get a fix on how his character might handle this conversation. In some ways, I think he would have preferred if he could let things happen in their own time, but he's also more than willing to step in if things get dire.
> 
> Something like that.
> 
> I hesitate to say we're getting close to the home stretch, but I mean, the Decepticons have left and we kinda need to head to Cybertron to stop them, so it's at least heading in that direction. So I'm hopeful I'll be able to update sooner rather than later this time!
> 
> In any event, please let me know what you think!  
~Rin


End file.
